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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26032177">surprise babe!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrynightzayn/pseuds/starrynightzayn'>starrynightzayn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, Domesticity, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:41:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26032177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrynightzayn/pseuds/starrynightzayn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This wasn’t how Zayn expected his Saturday night to go. He and Liam had agreed to order dinner from a restaurant downtown and watch a movie together. There was no plan for Liam to make a three course meal and decorate the entire fucking apartment with lights and flowers. But of course that’s exactly what happened.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zayn Malik/Liam Payne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>surprise babe!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>thank you for taking the time to read this and i hope you enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>- 4 hours earlier - </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s brilliant! Yes that’s perfect. Half an hour? Amazing. Thank you so much!” Liam hung up his phone and couldn’t help but smile. He'd just finished calling the floral company to confirm his order of white rose petals. This was just one part of the surprise Liam had planned for his husband. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few days before him and Zayn agreed to have a date night since the past month had been nothing but work for both of them. Liam really just wanted a night alone with his husband, so he decided to organize a night for just the two of them. But what Zayn didn’t know was that Liam had a whole celebration planned. Zayn had also just finished writing his latest song and Liam could see how exhausted he was from it; he deserved a break! And so the surprise dinner was born. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam turned to his phone to check the time and realized he needed to leave. He had to go across town for the flowers and didn’t want to be late; there was still hanging all the lights up and cooking dinner for the two of them. Liam really outdid himself with this one he had to admit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed his jacket, wallet, and keys and headed out the door. His Uber was already outside so he hopped right in and got his earbuds out. One of Zayn’s unreleased songs came on and he hummed along while looking out at the passing buildings and people. He smiled to himself-- the song has been written about him and their relationship. All of it was in Urdu which made Liam blush. He loved hearing his husband sing in a language that meant so much to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After 20 minutes he arrived at the store; he left the car and walked to the building where he was greeted by a tall woman with a warm smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi! Welcome to McQueens. Looking for anything specific today?” She asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I actually called a few hours ago. The person on the phone said my white rose petals came in?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yes, you must be Liam then! Right this way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He followed her to a desk which had a refrigerator behind it up against the wall. She reached in and removed the two plastic bags with petals inside. Liam’s face immediately lit up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I open one? Just to see them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go right ahead!” She remarked. The woman seemed almost as excited as Liam was, which he appreciated. He removed a petal and felt it between his fingers, then placing it on the palm of his hand to look at. It was soft and had a slight sweet smell. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perfect. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“These are brilliant. Thank you again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our pleasure! Will you be checking out then?” She asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes that would be great.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He handed her his credit card and looked around the store while she processed his order. There were all kinds of lovely bouquets and plants surrounding him; he felt so at home. He’d need to talk to Zayn about getting some succulents for their apartment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned back and the woman handed him his card and a bag with the two packets of petals inside. He thanked her and left the store, sprinting to his Uber as it’d just started to rain. Again he put his earbuds in so Zayn’s voice could drown out the sounds of thunder. He opened his notes app and checked off </span>
  <em>
    <span>pick up flowers</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He looked at the rest of his list and smiled; tonight would be one to remember.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he arrived back home he put the petals in the fridge and checked the time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>6:06 p.m</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He had three hours to cook dinner and set everything up. He started with the appetizers; mozzarella sticks and calamari. Both involved preparations beforehand so he wanted to get those out of the way first. He finished those off in less than 30 minutes and moved on to decorating as the main course and dessert didn’t require too much pre-work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He went to their closet and opened a drawer filled with bundles of lights. He began untangling them and laid each strand on the bed until the blankets underneath were barely visible. He carried them out and positioned individual strings throughout the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By 7:45 there was a flurry of lights shining brightly from the dining room. It looked like Christmas! Liam couldn’t wait to see the smile on Zayn’s face when he came home later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He returned to the kitchen and began preparing the rest of the meal. He heated up a pot of water for the pasta and another pan for the shrimp. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were both ready by 8:30 and so he returned to the appetizers. Zayn was supposed to be home at 9 but knowing him he’d be late; nevertheless, Liam returned to the calamari he’d started earlier. He filled a pot with oil and added spices before dropping in the squid. While that was cooking he went and removed the ingredients for dessert, a blueberry crumble. He bounced between this and the calamari until the dessert just needed to put in the oven and the calamari were done. The mozzarella sticks only took a minute to cook so he decided to finish decorating first. He removed the petals from the fridge and carefully placed them throughout the dining room so they covered the floor and surrounded the lights. He took a step back and admired the room; it was glowing and looked romantic as ever. Liam was practically jumping up and down from delight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was then that he realized he’d completely forgotten to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself</span>
  </em>
  <span> ready. It was already 9 and he hadn’t showered, brushed his teeth, or changed. He sprinted to his phone; Zayn usually texted him when he was leaving the studio. There was one unread message: “Running late bubs. Be home in half an hour! Can’t wait to see you xx.” Liam almost started jumping up and down again. Thank god for Zayn’s shit sense of time. He turned the stove off and ran to hop in the shower. 25 minutes later Liam was dressed in his favorite pair of plaid trousers and a tight fitting polo shirt and ready to go. He returned to the kitchen and heated up the air fryer to finish up the mozzarella sticks. After getting through five he heard the sound of keys and noticed the door beginning to open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe! Don’t open the door! Wait right there!” Liam turned the air fryer off and sprinted to the front entrance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh everything alright bub?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah just close your eyes and stay right there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn shook his head but did as his husband said. He closed his eyes and Liam opened the door, immediately covering Zayn’s eyes with his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok we’re gonna walk inside now just follow my lead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn let out a small laugh. “Ok babe.” Liam moved so he stood behind Zayn, his hand still over his eyes, and carefully directed Zayn forward until they were inside the house and looking onto the dining room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You ready babe i’m gonna take my hands off now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright Liam.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn opened his eyes and there everything was. The soft lights flickered back at him and the white rose petals were dainty as ever. Pristine white cloth covered the dining room table and a flickering candle lay on top. The fireplace was lit and music from one of their favorite playlists was playing quietly in the background. Zayn felt warmth all around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took his shoes off and walked to the table to admire everything. It was set with the tablecloths from their wedding and expensive cutlery. A string of lights hung from the corners and there were more petals on top. Everything about it was perfect. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned back to Liam who was practically glowing. Zayn was so overtaken by everything all he could manage was a soft smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you like it babe?” Liam asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn walked over and threw his arms around Liam, burying his head in the crook of his neck. Liam wrapped his arms around Zayn’s and kissed him on the side of his head. They stayed like this for a while, holding one another close while the lights enveloped them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love it babe. Thank you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn softly kissed his neck before moving to rest his forehead against Liam’s. He ruffled his hands through his hair and smiled back at Liam before kissing him sweetly. Liam kissed him back, gently caressing Zayn’s cheek. He then grabbed Zayn’s hand and led him to the table so they could begin their meal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam pulled the chair out for Zayn to sit and then made his way to the kitchen to finish the mozzarella sticks and plate the calamari. He put the blueberry crumble in the oven and then returned later with the appetizers and some wine. In the meantime Zayn updated him on the song he’d just finished writing; he’d started working on the chorus and was hoping to record part of it soon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m really proud of you babe this third album sounds amazing so far.” He reached across the table and took Zayn’s hand and squeezed it, making both of them giggle. Zayn blushed and looked down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks bub.” He was grinning from ear to ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that what this dinner was for? My new single and all?” Zayn asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean sort of. It’s just we’ve been both working so much these past few weeks I wanted to do something special. And I know how excited you were about finally getting all those lyrics down for your song I wanted to celebrate.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn reached over and gently squeezed Liam’s cheek before giving him a kiss on the forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks. That means a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam smiled and fondly ruffled his hands through Zayn’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok I think i’m good here. Ready for the main course?’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah let’s do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam gathered both of their plates and went to the kitchen where he filled both of them with the pasta and shrimp. He got another bottle of wine and returned to the dining room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow Liam you really went all out.” Zayn remarked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything for you love.” He replied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zayn took a bite of the shrimp and immediately loved it. It was slightly spicy but nothing crazy and everything was cooked perfectly. He could tell it was made with a lot of love which made him smile even more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is brilliant babe. Really really good.” Liam was glowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They talked about their plans for the week after; Zayn had been wanting to take a day off to work on his mural but hadn’t had the chance in months. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oo. I have some things on my bucket list I've been meaning to go through. Maybe I'll take the day off as well!” Liam exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then it’s settled! We’ll both stay home that day.” Zayn replied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfect.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fifteen minutes later their plates were in the sink and Liam was removing the crumble from the oven. The blueberries were bubbling on the bottom and top layer was a lovely golden brown. He hadn’t made dessert in a while so he was especially proud of this one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should just eat from the pan. What do you say?” Zayn asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam chuckled and agreed. They decided to let it cool first and cleaned the rest of the kitchen and dining room up in the meantime. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within ten minutes they were eating away at the blueberries and crumble topping, both which were ridiculously sweet. Almost half of it was done before Liam agreed they should stop and save the rest for another day. As he went to put it in the fridge Zayn came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Liam’s waist, resting his head on his back. Liam smiled and turned after putting the crumble away and hugged him right back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you so much Liam.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liam kissed his cheek and blushed. “I love you too Zaynie.”</span>
</p>
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